The present invention generally relates to medical bandage products. In particular, the present invention relates to an orthopedic splinting product and a casting product, both utilizing a substrate that can be used to stabilize a fracture or sprain or any other injury that requires a rigid or semi-rigid support and that includes a unique manner of transforming the products from a soft, conformable state to a rigid state suitable for immobilizing a wounded limb. A method of manufacturing and using the bandages is also disclosed.
Medical bandages for use in the treatment of injuries, such as broken bones requiring immobilization of a body member, are generally formed from a strip of fabric or scrim material impregnated with a substance which hardens into a rigid structure after the strip has been wrapped around the body member.
Conventional practice has been to fabricate a cast or splint upon an injured limb by initially applying to the limb a protective covering of a cotton fabric or the like, and then overwrapping the covering and limb with a substrate impregnated with plaster-of-paris or a substrate formed from flexible fiberglass fabric layers impregnated with a moisture-curable resin. Casts or splints formed from these materials possess several disadvantages. In particular, casts or splints formed using plaster-of-paris impregnated substrates have a relatively low strength to weight ratio. This results in a finished cast or splint having low strength that is very heavy and bulky. Furthermore, plaster-of-paris casts or splints are slow to harden, requiring 24 to 72 hours to reach maximum strength. Because plaster-of-paris breaks down in water, bathing and showering are difficult. Even if wetting due to these causes can be avoided, perspiration over an extended period of time can break down the plaster-of-paris and create a significant problem with odor and itching.
In order to alleviate the above-discussed disadvantages of the conventional cast or splint utilizing plaster-of-paris impregnated substrates, moisture-curable resin impregnated fiberglass substrates and resin-impregnated non-glass substrates formed from a knitted or woven fabric have been devised. The knitted fabric substrate provides a cast or splint that exhibits particularly good conformability, possesses sufficient rigidity when cured, and shows relatively little or no loss of strength.
Current synthetic splinting and casting products utilize moisture-curable resins to harden the cast tape or splint upon application. Because the chemistry is designed to harden upon exposure to moisture, these products are required to be packaged in low moisture conditions and maintained in a moisture-proof condition until just prior to application. The hardening reaction is typically initiated by wetting the product with water and then promptly applying and conforming the product to the limb as required before the cast or splint hardens.
This water hardenable resin is usually activated by either spraying water on the resin or cast or splint or dunking the device in water and squeezing the water into the bandage. In all these practices it is essential to saturate the casting tape or splint with water to ensure proper activation of the resin and hardening of the cast or splint.
These products have been very successful, but require specialized packaging in low moisture conditions and in relatively expensive multilayer plastic and metal foil packages. Even then, these products can become hard over a period of time or lead to deactivation of the chemical components (e.g., catalyst) as a result of trace amounts of moisture in the packaging, or because of moisture intrusion during removal of portions of the bandage material from roll-form type packaging. Cast tape and splint roll products manufactured and sold by BSN medical, Inc. under the trademark Orthoglass® comprise such products. Therefore, there is a need for a simpler, less-expensive yet easy to use moisture curable bandage, such as cast tape and splints.